Cruise ships could return to Bay of Islands later this year

Ovation of the Seas, the biggest cruise ship to visit Northland, enters the Bay of Islands in January 2017. Photo / Peter de Graaf

Cruise ships are likely to return to Northland starting in October — but that hinges on the Government announcing a date for reopening the maritime border soon, the cruise industry says.

Kevin O'Sullivan, chief executive of the New Zealand Cruise Association, said the Prime Minister's mention of cruising in response to a question on Wednesday — and the work currently underway to allow ships back into the country — had heartened the sector.

Australia had set a date of April 17 for reopening its maritime border and he hoped New Zealand would quickly follow suit.

The announcement of a date was more important than the date itself, he said.

''We don't yet have an indication of when it will be, but it's becoming more and more likely we'll have a season beginning in October. The announcement needs to be soon to allow the industry to plan, otherwise, they will continue to cancel.''

O'Sullivan said generally the same companies that visited Northland in the past had shown interest in returning.

If the border did reopen in time for summer, with sufficient notice, he expected the season would be comparable to 2018-19.

During that season 65 cruise ships visited the Bay of Islands bringing an estimated spend of $21 million.

In 2019-20, a record 74 ships had been expected but the season was cut short by the pandemic with 19 unable to visit.

Asked how the cruise industry would win back trust after the events of 2020, O'Sullivan said the association planned to visit ports around the country to talk to the public as well as tourism operators.

''There will be an element of uncertainty. It's been two years of living in fear,'' he said.

The industry had restarted a year ago in other parts of the world, giving companies time to learn how to best operate in a Covid environment.

Irwin Wilson, cruise ship coordinator for port operator Far North Holdings, said cruising companies had made bookings for the Bay of Islands later this year but there was nothing firm as yet.

''Everybody's waiting for the Government to announce what the rules might be. The cruise industry has made bookings in various ports around New Zealand to ensure there are slots available if and when cruise ships are able to operate.''

Before Covid it wasn't unusual to see two cruise ships in a day in the Bay of Islands - in this case, Noordam and Radiance of the Seas on January 15, 2020. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The last cruise ships visited Northland in 2020, just before the Government barred cruise ship visits on March 14 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northland dodged a bullet because the Ruby Princess, which was already in New Zealand waters and was permitted to finish its cruise, had been due to call into the Bay of Islands.

Instead, the vessel skipped its final ports in New Zealand and sailed directly back to Sydney, where passengers were allowed to disembark and travel to their homes across Australia.

That triggered one of Australia's worst clusters with more than 900 cases and 28 deaths.